Confusion and Fascination
by Jigoku no Namida
Summary: The war is over and most decide to finish their education at Hogwarts. Draco returns with a still shaken-up mind, a weird, new attitude and a fascination for Hermione, while Hermione is confused by Draco and his staring. -Dramione in the making
1. When Things Collide

**A.N. Well, the first paragraph suddenly came to me and I had to write it down, but before I knew it, I spent the rest of my evening on this. XD**

**I'm not sure how to categorise this, though. Also, I'm unsure of whether to continue this. This really was all made up on the spur of the moment, so I don't know if it has the potential of a good story.**

**Anyway, enjoy reading! ^^**

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So yes, he might have been paying more attention to her this year than he had the previous six years he had been at the same school with her. And yes, he may have lost his pureblood believes a little after the past two years of being very much involved with the war. Furthermore, he could not deny that he hadn't even so much as sneered at her yet the past two months. However it would still be preposterous to say that he, Draco Malfoy, had fallen in love with her, bloody Hermione Granger.

Annoyed by the nosiness of the girl that was Pansy Parkinson, Draco crumpled another note inquiring about his weird behaviour towards a certain Mudblood. Before throwing the note back at it's meddlesome owner, he straightened the parchment a bit, scrawled on the back that it was none of her business and made her aware of the fact that she would be severely punished if he were to talk to the teachers about her frequent use of the well-known derogatory term for Muggleborns. When he finished writing that down, he crumpled the note again and threw it at his fellow Slytherin. He felt a little put down though, when the note missed her head and landed perfectly on her desk.

He caught her stealing a glance at him, before she hurriedly began to straighten the parchment. Infatuated was an understatement for the way she felt about him, Draco knew that all too well, but he really couldn't be bothered by her obsessive antics anymore. He had broken up with her, they were done. Sadly, Pansy seemed to believe otherwise.

'Oh well…' Draco thought absentmindedly. He had stopped caring for her long ago. After a minute or so of staring into empty space, he decided to start taking notes about something his teacher called 'electricity'. To the surprise of practically everyone in the school he, a sodding Malfoy, had started following Muggle Studies classes. Even he had surprised himself. However, thinking back, Draco knew it was not as illogical as it would seem to everyone. Actually, he had become rather interested in how Muggles managed without magic.

Given, to understand his choice one would need to know about all he had seen the past two years. Death, torture, they had been constant guests at the Malfoy Manor, his home. He had seen people die, cowering in fear, begging for mercy, going mad, you name it and he had seen it all. Every horror one could imagine. But what really got to him were the people who held their heads high until the bitter, unfair end. At some occasions, he had joined a group of Death Eaters who went on a killing spree in Muggle towns. And there too, there were those bloody courageous people, mothers, fathers, grandparents, even children, who didn't cower in the face of a power they didn't understand. After seeing that his opinion already started to shift a little.

But what really caused him to turn his believes 180 degrees around were not simple Muggles. No, his epiphany, if you will, was all because of Hermione Granger. He would never admit this in front of everyone, but she had done it, she changed his perception of how the world worked. And she didn't do it by showing courage, resistance or anything at all like that. She did it by breaking. When she was tortured by his aunt Bellatrix, she, the brains of the Golden Trio, Gryffindor's Lioness, the know-it-all he had pestered for years, broke down entirely. It was so unnatural to see. She was supposed to stand tall, to retort to him, to punch him, to be the proud, loyal Mudblood she always was. But all that crumbled down and all that was left was a puddle of misery and pain that was once Hermione Granger. He realised right there, between her sobs and pleads for mercy, that that was not how it was supposed to be. Hermione Granger belonged, as weird as sounded, right in front of him, not at his feet.

He was a Malfoy, for Merlin's sake! He wasn't supposed to be wrong! He knew that, but even the part of him that was that proud, childish little boy that adored his father and believed everything his role-model told him had to admit, as begrudgingly as was humanly possible, but still, that his father and he himself were wrong all along. Hermione proved this point even more when Bellatrix carved 'Mudblood' in her arm with a knife. Her blood and his blood were exactly the same. Hers was just as red, not a spec of mud to be seen. At that moment, Draco hated Hermione Granger more than he ever had before. She had proven him to be completely, utterly, undeniably wrong. He hated it.

Still, all he wanted was to make everything stop. He wanted to go back in time and stop everything from ever happening like it did now. Should he help her? Make himself an enemy of the Dark Lord? Help the Light side? Could he do what his father couldn't? Could he overcome his own cowardice? The answer was, quite simply, no. He couldn't help her. He couldn't switch sides. He was stuck in this room, watching another horror, paralysed.

After the war was over, he and his parents managed to stay out of Azkaban, solely because they changed sides at the very end and didn't contribute much to the final battle. Hell, his mother even earned some praise for saving Potter's arse in the Forbidden Forest. Still, his parents had told him to keep his head down as much as possible, before he left for his last year at Hogwarts.

And so he had. He refrained from hanging out with people who were still considered Voldemort's followers, people like Pansy. He had taken Muggle Studies as one of his N.E.W.T., though he first had to take some special classes and did his O.W.L. for the class during the holidays. He had been surprised, or rather horrified, when he learned that Pansy had done the same. Their parents were well-acquainted, so he should've known that she would know about his new classes one way or another, but still… He hadn't thought she would follow him there, since, unlike him, she still thought of Muggleborns as trash unworthy of magic. Sometimes he wished he could still believe in that too.

Anyhow, along with his interest in Muggles, his interest in Hermione Granger had grown. The past months, he had been watching her whenever he saw the opportunity, but it looked like he still went unnoticed by the know-it-all herself. He had, however, received some nasty glares from Potter and Weasel, so he figured that soon, she would know too. Just like the entire school. Really, she must be quite thick-headed if she hadn't heard the rumours yet. Not that he cared much for gossip, but he knew he was often the topic. He and his crush on Hermione Granger. Ha! It was ridiculous. And Pansy believed every single word of it. She had been whining his ears of for weeks now. Still, he persisted that it was none of her business and wouldn't honour any question with an answer.

Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini, currently his best friends, had a better understanding of the situation, luckily. He hadn't shared much of his thoughts, a Malfoy would never, but they seemed to understand, or at least tolerate, his fascination with Muggles and Hermione Granger much better than Pansy did.

He wasn't in love though. He was fascinated by her, by how she stood so strong in battle, by her ingenuity and most of all he was fascinated by the amount of influence she had on his life. At Malfoy Manor, it had been the first time that he realised how much of a constant she was in his life. She was even more so than Potter and Weasel combined. For years, he had taken that for granted, but now he knew what it was like to miss that proud, clever constant, he started to see how special she actually was to him. There were times when his soppiness scared him, when he thought like that.

"Mister Malfoy?"

Being pulled out of the abyss of his mind, Draco stared at the teacher, who was frantically waving at him with, what he thought was called a telephone.

"Ah, could you repeat the question?" He asked sheepishly. His teacher frowned at him. "Please pay closer attention in the future, mister Malfoy. I asked you what other ways of communication Muggles have, besides the telephone."

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Sitting in the Great Hall, Draco stared at the back of a head that was covered in brown curls. Pansy had buggered off for now and Blaise and Theo were working on a potion that needed stirring every few hours, so Draco sat alone at dinner. He didn't mind, he wasn't really feeling like chatting anyway. While he didn't look away from the curly head, he took another sip of his pumpkin juice. Three. It was for the third time during dinner that Weasel shot a glare his way. Potter had yet to do anything. Today he seemed too absorbed in what the Headgirl was saying to notice Draco. Yes, of course Hermione Granger had been chosen as Head Girl. Who else? Who bloody else? Draco didn't remember the name of the Head Boy. All he recalled was that it was a Ravenclaw. Not that it mattered much. What was it to him who the Head Boy was? All the guy had to do was follow Granger's orders and that was it probably. Not that he cared at all.

He was getting tired of this. For his life, he couldn't force another sip or bite down his throat, so all that he had left to do was stare at that curly head of hair, risking the chance that he would fantasise about running his fingers through said hair, like he had last week. At first, he had been totally lost in the dream, but as he realised what he was day-dreaming about, he jumped up so fast, he knocked over his goblet of Pumpkin juice. He then had fled the Great Hall to avoid a scene.

He didn't want that to happen again, so he decided that, since he was done eating, he would take his leave. As he stood up, his goblet and plate emptied themselves and, as usual, lots of people looked up and some even ceased their conversation. Draco quickly turned on his heel and marched out of the Great Hall with as much dignity he could muster nowadays. The moment he passed through the huge double doors, he sensed that he wasn't the only one leaving. As unnoticeable as possible, he took hold of his wand.

Like he suspected, a group of Gryffindors made an attempt to corner him. Only a few corridors away from the Great Hall, all five of them stepped out of the shadows and quickly surrounded him, forcing him to back up against a wall. "Expelliarmus." One of them tried, but he easily deflected the spell with non-verbal magic. He hardly had to pull his wand. Then it became more tricky, as they started firing all at once. He was very lucky that his Protego-charm held against all stunning spells, hexes and curses that bounced on and off it. Meanwhile they were taunting him, asking him how it felt to be cornered by more than one. Asking him how it felt to be taken down by Muggleborns. "You should've stayed home, Malfoy!"

Draco started to move away from the wall, trying to find an escape route. Honestly, he knew he could take them out, but if he did anything now, the chances were high he'd be in trouble. He didn't need more trouble. So he waited for a weak spot, a place he could breach and escape through. Unfortunately, these Muggleborns noticed he had no trouble deflecting their magic and decided that they'd try the other way. They put their wands away and before Draco knew what hit him, they jumped him all at once and started to hit him wherever they could. Though he managed to throw his wand to safety (which he did because he knew that using any magic on them, meant trouble for him and he didn't want his wand broken), Draco couldn't save himself. He tried to dodge, block and get away, but it all seemed futile. Before he knew it, he was on the ground, getting hit by two Gryffindors, who also held him down, while the others kicked at him.

Right then, a red flash illuminated the corridor. Draco turned his head to see who had come to his rescue and was surprised to see the Head Girl standing there, holding his wand in her left hand and her own, in her right.

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To say that Draco Malfoy had been behaving odd lately would be the understatement of the year. Hermione Granger thought to herself, as she tried to concentrate on her homework and not on the eyes that were drilling holes in her head from the other side of the library. What was he thinking? Was that stupid git still holding grudges and was he planning her demise? It was really starting to tick her off. For weeks now, she had felt those steel gray eyes on her almost constantly. Half of the time, she was most likely being paranoid, because there was no way he could get into her shower, or any part of her Head-quarters, for that fact.

'Not only has he been watching me, he also hasn't been rude to me or Harry or Ron these past few months that we're all at school again. Strange…' Hermione thought, feeling confused about the entire situation. She couldn't say she minded the 'not rude' part. Life certainly was easier without a bully. But she couldn't quite put her finger on his new attitude and that annoyed her. She wasn't used to a Draco Malfoy she couldn't predict, but ever since their sixth year, she really didn't know what to think of him anymore. He and his family had been trapped in being Death Eaters, he didn't sell Harry out to Voldemort at Malfoy Manor and was defeated there too easily. She had followed classes with him and although she didn't like it, she had to admit that he was a wizard with skill. She knew he practically let them out. But besides these and other little things he did, he had seemed unchanged before they met again at Hogwarts.

Still, she was Hermione Granger, how could she not notice the little things? Draco Malfoy hadn't been one-sided anymore. He wasn't just a prick anymore. During the war, he had already changed. and when she saw him now, she could still see his pride, but it was a stained one, a damaged one. She knew she should still hate him, after all that he had done to her and her friends, but right now, she also knew she couldn't. Not when he wasn't just a bully anymore. She wasn't vengeful enough for that, even though Ron and Harry were.

She wanted to know. She wanted to know what he was up to, with all the quietness and staring, where was it leading to? Could she just ask him? Immediately that thought was dumped in a bin. 'Ask him? What am I thinking! Merlin, it's still Draco Malfoy! An oddly quiet and unnoticeable Draco Malfoy, but Draco Malfoy nonetheless!' Hermione thought, horrified at the thought of trying to have a conversation with him. Her train of thought was broken by a person striding past her and needlessly she looked up to see who it was. The object of her thoughts disappeared through the library's doors.

* * *

During dinner, the usual gossip was going around the Great Hall, of Draco Malfoy being in love with Hermione Granger and all that sort of bollocks. Meanwhile Ron glared at a certain blond head at the Slytherin table, from time to time, when he wasn't stuffing himself. Hermione was paying no attention to her cranky boyfriend, but was entertaining her best friend with an anecdote instead. This carried on for a while. People talking and drinking, eating and listening. At some point, the Great Hall quietened down a bit and Hermione didn't even need to look to know who was leaving. Malfoy.

At the same time, five people of the Gryffindor house stood up and made their leave, though they were in less of a hurry to get out than Malfoy had been.

Hermione felt uncomfortable and knew something was up. Should she follow them? She was the Head Girl after all, and this smelled fishy. The Gryffindors hadn't gone up the stairs, but had headed left, like Malfoy, to the dungeons. Harry spotted the worried look on her face instantly. "Are you ok, 'Mione?" he asked, sounding concerned. She nodded, but bent over, so she could whisper: "Those Gryffindors that just left are after Malfoy, I think. It's my duty as a Head Girl to look into this." Harry frowned. "Even though it's just Malfoy, I agree that you should check it out. Want me to go with you?" Hermione quickly shook her head, looking stern. "You'd only get into trouble, I'll go alone. Those Gryffindors won't harm me anyway." Before he could answer, she was already halfway out of the Great Hall.

Her gut instinct had been right. She hardly went down one corridor before she could she the lights of spells, coming from a few corridors away, so she started to run towards the source. A moment later, the spells stopped and so did Hermione. Where were they? She heard the sound of wood hitting the marble floor and looked straight ahead. A wand come rolling out of a corridor on the right side. Suddenly she heard the sound of a body being kicked and hit and she heard some soft groans. Breaking out of her daze, Hermione dashed down the corridor, picked up the wand that lay on the floor and shot off a jet of red light. Hardly a second later, she made eye contact with a very, very surprised and rather beaten-up Draco Malfoy.

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**A.N. Please, tell me Draco was sort of in charcter! I really want to get him right, so tell me if you find some errors on the Draco-front! As for Hermione, I know I did her all wrong... I'm sorry.**

**Please leave a review on Draco (and Hermione) and on whether this should be continued!**


	2. The Lion saves the Ferret

**A.N. Yes, this chapter is considerably shorter than the first, but trust me, I'll make the third chapter longer than this one. Anyway, I hope you'll like this short chappie!**

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Bloody hell. Of course, it had to be her, she had to be the one to get him out of the mess he was currently in. He didn't know whether he should be astounded, grateful, or anything else. Should he tell her to shove off? Should he be happy and thank her? He was at a total loss of words and of any coherent thoughts. Not too long after, he mentally scolded himself for being so flabbergasted. How could he be so astonished by this? She was the Head Girl after all! Though he certainly didn't know her well, he knew that, although he was her enemy, she would help him out regardless of that, plainly because it was her duty.

"What do you think you're doing?! Step back and let go of him! Thirty points from Gryffindor, for each of you!" She certainly was in her element right now. With her eyes ablaze, her hair swirling around and her wand in her hand, she most certainly was a fearsome sight to behold. The Gryffindors jumped away from him like he caught fire and started to mumble excuses and apologies. As she walked up to them, they shrunk back a little. "You are to report to thee Head of your House immediately and he will decide your punishment! Now, go!" As soon as she finished speaking, they scurried off, not wanting to stay in the corridor a second longer than was strictly necessary.

Finally, the Head Girl turned her attention to Draco. Kneeling down next to him, she asked: "Are you alright, Malfoy?" He tried getting up, but this proved itself to be considerably difficult and he ended up grunting and sitting up against the wall. "Yeah, sure, I've never been better." He mumbled, attempting to stifle his winces. Granger began to look seriously concerned at this. "Maybe we should get you to the Infirmary…" She started, but Draco quickly cut her off. "No! I don't need to go the Infirmary. It's just some bruises, I'll be fine!" He claimed, giving her a foul, irritated look. And she had the audacity to grin in response. "It's not like you to be modest about injuries, Malfoy. Aren't you supposed to cry about how they nearly pulled you apart and threaten to sue them?" His look became even fouler than before. "Unlike what people may say and think, I'm not a little kid anymore, Granger."

Now it was her turn to look taken aback. Draco decided a smirk was in place here, so he smirked his infamous smirk at her, causing her shake off her surprise and to glare at him. "What is it with you, Malfoy?!" The smirk fell. "What could you possibly mean?" She frowned and looked at her lap, not sure how to put it into words. "Well… It's just… You've changed…" At this point, he rolled his eyes. "Yes, Granger, I changed. That's what war does with people. Even with people like me." He nearly spat out the last words. She still wouldn't look at him, so when she whispered an apology, he almost missed it. Agitated, he threw he hands in the air, only to regret that a moment later. "What's it with YOU?! Since when do you apologise to me!" He all but yelled. "To me!" He repeated, as to emphasize his point of how unusual it was.

Finally Granger's head snapped back up and with her finger pointed at his chest, she snarled at him: "Well, excuse me for trying to understand! Merlin, all I'm trying to do is be nice to you! I'm just trying to show you some sympathy and this is what I get!" She finished her little rant by poking him roughly. Biting back a wince, Draco retorted "I don't need your bloody sympathy!" He had to put some effort in it, but he managed to grab her finger, so she wouldn't be able to poke him again. "Then why have you been staring at me since we got back at school!" Granger demanded. He was stunned into silence. "What's the matter, Malfoy? Have the Muggle germs started attacking your brain?" She hissed, as she pulled her hand back, successfully freeing herself from his grip.

".. I know there's no such thing as Muggle germs…" He mumbled so quietly, he was nearly mouthing it. "I beg you pardon?" A slight blush crept up his cheeks and he felt very embarrassed. "Nothing! It's none of your business, you filthy M-" He quickly swallowed what he was about to say. Almost, he had ruined everything there was left for him to ruin. Meanwhile, Granger looked at him in amazement. What in Merlin's name had got into Draco Malfoy? But suddenly, she realised. "You haven't answered my question yet, Malfoy. Why have been staring at me?" For a moment, it was awfully silent again. Then he declared as haughty as he could manage to sound, which, truth be told, was quite haughty: "You just happen to jump in and out of my line of vision sometimes, Granger. Don't blame me for seeing you."

She snorted at this reply. 'The insolence!' Her behaviour was really getting on his nerves. "Please, Malfoy. Not even Ron would've bought that. Are the rumours true then? Do you have a crush on me? How cu-" That did it. "Definitely not!" He all but screamed. "There's no way I'd fall in love with a M-Muggle-born, bossy, bushy-haired know-it-all like you! I thought you were above gossip, Granger, but apparently I was wrong. You are just like those Brown and Patil girls…" He really knew how to push her buttons, she was fuming by now. "You stinking little ferret! Don't you dare compare me to them!" She was about to poke him again, but then she realised that he really was injured. Softly, she sighed and her tensed body relaxed, momentarily leaving Draco to wonder what the matter was, before she said: "Okay, I won't take you to Madame Pomfrey, but at least let me take care of some things." Before he could reply, she drew her wand and muttered "Episkey."

Instantaneously, he relaxed and closed his eyes for a moment, relish the feeling of the pain slipping away. Hardly a second later, he noticed how he let his guard slip. Malfoys are not supposed to let their guard down. He sat up hurriedly, before staggering to his feet. Once he had regained his balance, he looked down at the Head Girl, who was still in a kneeling position. Like he hadn't just had a conversation with her, Draco nonchalantly said: "My wand, if you don't mind." As if to mark his words, he held out his hand, making a grabbing-gesture impatiently. Feeling cheeky, Granger put her hand, which still held his wand, into his outstretched hand and pulled herself up with it. He looked at her incredulously, while she smirked back at him to the best of her abilities.

Trying to maintain whatever was left of his composure, he stated: "I'll take my leave then." With that said, he gracefully put his wand away, turned on his heels and to walk off as casually and quickly as possible. Hanging around Granger too much brought back some unpleasant memories. Though she had tried to hide it well, when she had used that Healing spell on him, he had seen the 'd' carved into her flesh. Although it was very faint and certainly had been treated by a Mediwizard, perhaps a Healer from St. Mungo's, he had noticed it. How could he not have?

Mudblood… Mudblood… Mudblood…

He had to get out fast. He had to outrun and repress his nightmares, while he was still certain that he could. "Malfoy?" Damn, she called after him. Stopping dead in his tracks, he only ever so slightly turned his head. "Yeah?" From the corner of his eye, he could tell she was smiling. Strange, why would she smile? To him, of all people in the world? "Please try to stay out of fights with fellow students. I won't always be able to save your behind. I have more than enough other things I want to take care of, instead of watching over you." Even he couldn't help but grin now. "I can make no such promises, Granger. Trouble loves me, after all." Then he started walk again and as he rounded the corner, he would swear Hermione Granger was still smiling after him.

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**A.N. So what do you think? Could this story still go somewhere? Please leave a review! ^^**

**Hopefully it won't take me years to update! I'm not making any promises though.**


	3. After Curfew

**A.N. So, yes, it's taking me very long, but now I've got another chapter written down. I hope you enjoy it.**

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That Draco Malfoy. Really, she only spent a few minutes with him and she had to face it: His attitude had turned around completely! Of all people in the world, she would be the last to believe that, but after their first actual civil conversation in those eight years they had known each other, she couldn't find it in herself to outright deny this fact. At first she still suspected him, she'd like to think naturally, of putting on an act, but after a while she couldn't get herself to believe that anymore. The main reason was that he was still Draco bloody Malfoy through and through, even though he changed his attitude, he still didn't try to be perfectly amiable. If he had had the ulterior motive to get closer to her, he would've acted nicer and would probably have tried to make more of a conversation. He wouldn't have dashed away as soon as possible, like he did. The size of his change really took her by surprise. She'd already known that the ferret had changed, his silence and staring had proven that to her, but to think that it'd be this huge a change…

Not being able to keep this all to herself, she talked to Harry and Ron about it, right after dinner. Ron, of course, threw a fit, ranting about how he was a stinking Malfoy and Malfoys don't change for the better and if he dared to get close to her again, Ron would hex his arse to the moon. Harry seemed to agree with Ron to a certain level, but contemplated her words nonetheless. Hermione was grateful for that, even though Harry agreed with Ron again in the end, arguing that while Malfoy might have changed so much, this still was fishy. Then the boy-who-lived-again-and-again grinned at her and said: "Then again, it might all be for you, 'Mione. He's got a crush on you after all." Hermione turned a dangerous kind of pink and swatted his arm playfully, yet hard. Ron however wasn't anything that could even slightly resemble amused.

The following days, she didn't even see a single platinum blond hair. It seemed Malfoy had vanished from the Earth. She didn't have classes with him those days, so she couldn't say for sure if he was purposefully avoiding her, but she did notice that he wasn't in the Great Hall when she was and she didn't see him in the corridors either. Ron didn't mind so much though and neither did Harry. She knew that they were getting rather tired of all her talking about Malfoy all the time, but she was just curious. Lately, he has only been confusing and Hermione Granger does not like to be confused. Ever since he got that way, all she wanted to do was understand him. But how could she understand him, when he wasn't around for her to observe!

It was Thursday night and she was scribbling away furiously, as usual, while Harry and Ron, oblivious to her agitated thoughts, were flipping through their Potion's book, trying to get what in Merlin's name they were supposed to write an essay of two feet on. Secretly they were waiting for Hermione to help them out again though and she was very much aware of that. When she finished her last paper, Harry casually cleared his throat. "Say, 'Mione…-" Sighing, she turned to look at him. "Harry, you know that you can't rely on me forever to check your work or to lend you my own. I'll do it for you now, but you'll learn nothing this way and I hope you realise that." The way he looked at her told her that he knew this, but he also knew that he wouldn't change his ways after this time either, as always. Hermione frowned and sighed again, before she began reading what Harry had written down, correcting mistakes and telling him where he should add something. They were done in no time.

"Thanks a lot, 'Mione" Her best friend smiled at her and carefully put the scroll away. Tiredly, Hermione returned the smile and started packing her things, when Ron threw his parchment on the book in front of her. Feeling the annoyance flare up in her, Hermione asked slowly, through gritted teeth. "What?" Ron looked at her like she told him a goblin had flown in for him earlier just to flip the finger at him. "You checked Harry's work too, why wouldn't you check mine? You're MY girlfriend after all." If it had been physically possible, steam would've been coming out of her ears. "The fact that I'm your girlfriend doesn't make me your personal house elf, Ronald!" She yelled, feeling just as offended as she sounded: very. Harry clearly didn't know what to do, while Ron sat there speechless. It was a good thing that they were in the Head-quarters and not in the Gryffindor common room, because after a second or two of silence, Ron stood up loudly, snatched his parchment and stuffed it in his bag along with his quill and ink. The tips of his ears were bright red.

"Fine." He growled. "You know what? I give up! If you only want to spent your time fantasising about Malfoy, instead of helping me, then make him your boyfriend! I'm out of here!" Angrily, Hermione stood up as well. "What in Merlin's name has Malfoy got to do with this?! All I want is for you to treat me like an actual human being, like a girl, instead of your homework-machine! If you can't respect me like that, then.." Her voice got stuck for a moment. She had to bite back a sob. "… Then don't come back here!" She cried out, pointing at the portrait hole through which one entered and exited the quarters. "Good. You won't be seeing me here again!" Ron yelled, before storming out, slamming the portrait behind him. Tears she had held back up until then started to blur her vision. She felt Harry's hand rest softly on her shoulder.

Choking on her sobs, she managed to mutter: "It's alright, Harry. You'd better go after him… or he'll be angry with you too…" She didn't need to see him to know that Harry looked at her sadly, before nodding. She heard the sound of a bag being lifted and from the direction of the exit she heard Harry whisper: "Be strong, Hermione. He'll come to his senses again soon." With that, he reluctantly left his crying friend in her common room. As soon as the portrait shut behind him, Hermione dropped on her knees and started to cry her eyes out. How could Ron be so mean? After all they've been through together, he still won't treat her like an equal! To him, she's still just an encyclopaedia. Why won't he treat her like the girl she is? He had no problems doing that with Lavender Brown!

Like that Hermione's angry and sad thoughts kept raging on in her head, while she tried to cry them out. After a while, Hermione was slowly getting a grip. She was now sensible enough to know that sitting around in the Head-quarters wouldn't do her any good. Terry would be back from doing his rounds as Head Boy too and she didn't want him to see her like that, all teary-eyed and emotionally unstable. No, what she needed was a good breath of fresh air. And since she was no stranger to breaking the curfew, she decided she would head for the Astronomy Tower, as she knew it to be the most deserted place with fresh air on the Hogwarts grounds. No one felt comfortable snogging on the spot where Dumbledore died, after all. Hermione didn't want to be disrespectful, but she saw this as the most fitting place to clear her mind. And so she snuck out of the Head-quarters.

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That blasted girl! Hermione Granger really knew way too well how she could send him reeling. Once he had got to the Slytherin dormitories, Draco practically launched himself on his bed. His friends and roommates were still dining and she probably just started. He had shamelessly made a huge effort to avoid her the past days. Perhaps he was exaggerating a bit, all he had to do was eat as early as possible and take secret passages to his classes. Because they were in different Houses, he didn't really have to go all that far, but he was feeling really paranoid. When he had bullied them years ago, he had had run-in's with the Golden Trio a few times a week, so even when he didn't try, he didn't necessarily cross paths with the Golden Brain. Still, in his paranoia, he felt her everywhere. Even when he walked through the secret passages, he couldn't shake off the feeling of her gaze on him.

Why was he making such a big deal out of this? The witch had only helped him out dutifully and smiled at him. Because of the dutiful motive behind the helping, that didn't get to him so much, but that smile! What was with that? Why was it such a punch in his face all of a sudden? Witches smiled at him all the time, it shouldn't be such a surprise. He wasn't foolish enough not to see this must be related to his 'newfound' interest in her. 'I mean, I've seen her smile before, for sure.' He thought to himself. '… Just not at me. Even so, it didn't grab my attention before…'

At this point, Blaise had apparently seen fit to interrupt Draco's unhelpful thoughts. "You were done eating fast, as to be expected. Really, what's got into you lately, Drake? Why won't you spill the beans already?" His best friend was looking down on him, as always, but this time Draco wasn't in the mood. "Bugger off, Blaise. I've got to start studying." Blaise held back a snigger, Draco could see that by the way Blaise's lips twitched into a little smirk for a moment. "Evasive, as usual too, I see." Blaise commented tauntingly. When his friend didn't reply, but instead opted to grab his Potions book and begin reading, he concluded that the Malfoy heir wasn't about to speak up and he decided to let it rest. For now.

It was now officially the middle of the night and every sensible Slytherin had retreated to his or her bed. Draco too was laying in his bed, but unlike the others, he was still waiting for sleep to come. As a matter of fact, at this point in time, he gave up on sleeping and decided to get some fresh air. It seemed ages ago that he had had taken a proper breath. So he slipped on some shoes and grabbed some of his robes. He didn't really want to dress up at this hour, but it was a rather hot night, so he hadn't bothered to put on a shirt. And he was a Malfoy, so sneaking around the school half-naked wasn't an option. That's why he put on a blouse, which he didn't button up entirely, because he got tired of finding the right buttons and holes in the dark, and one of his black cloaks. Like that, he quietly left the Slytherin dungeon, taking his wand with him, just in case.

At first he was just wandering around a bit. He wanted air, so he should either take a secret passage out of the school or get up on one of the many towers. He immediately decided against secret passages. It would take long to get outside and if someone else followed him there he wouldn't be able to hide. Then, what tower should he go too? Definitely not the West Tower. Though it was remote, the Owlery was located there and therefore it really smelled up there. He never had quite liked the Dark Tower, mostly because it was and still is a prison. You couldn't get on top of the roofs of a lot of other towers…

Faintly, Draco could hear Filch's angry shouts echoing through the corridors. Filch was approaching and by the sound of it, he was probably hunting Peeves again. In other words: Draco had to get out of there. So without a second thought, Draco started running for it, as silently as he could. After six years of frequently ignoring curfew, he had learned how to make nearly no noise while running on the marble floor. Also, he had had some time to train at his home, of course. Anyway, he ran, letting his feet decide where they would take him. All he did on the way was noting that they were taking him up a whole bunch of stairs and that the volume of Filch's voice began to decrease again, although he did hear some things crashing down in classrooms not so far away from him. That didn't scare him so much, because he knew it was Peeves, and he could handle Peeves. He was a Slytherin and knew the two magic words: 'Bloody Baron'.

Only when he was entirely sure that he was out of the danger zone, he slowed down. He was rather displeased to see that his feet had decided to take him to the roof of the Astronomy. Hesitatingly, he grabbed the doorknob and in a wave of decisiveness, he swung the door open a little faster than necessary, to find that there was already someone there. Funnily enough, it wasn't the Bloody Baron.

* * *

***A.N. It is mentioned in the books that a 'favourite pastime' of the Bloody Baron is to 'groan and clank up on the Astronomy Tower'***

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**A.N. That is all again, dear people! Once I've got the new chapter ready, I'll bring it to you immediately!**

**See you (soon...?)!**


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